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“I love tortilla soup,” says Anjie Villalobos, one of our favorite Mexican-food cocineras. So do her daughters and grandkids, which is why this California abuela makes the traditional Mexican sopa or caldo a couple times a month, no matter the season. ”Even in the summer. I just made my family’s favorite version of tortilla soup just a couple weeks ago. My daughter said, ’Mom, we’ve been asking you to make this for months!’ So I did.”
Which tortilla soup she will make is another matter altogether. ”I make varying types of tortilla soup. Usually I make it with chicken.” But sometimes, when la sopa will be followed by a hearty second course, the meal calls for a simpler version. That’s when she makes this traditional, just-tomatoes-and-chiles tortilla soup — to equal acclaim.
”This version doesn’t have meat. It’s lighter fare. It’s a nice starter as a first course when you plan to serve a big meal,” says Anjie. This is a pairing perfecto with tacos de papa or a chocolaty-delish mole like this Familia Kitchen Recipe Contest winner: My Aunt Coty’s mole with guajillo, cocoa and peanuts).
No matter the main, this simple tortilla soup is sure to set up your menu beautifully. It’s not filling and all flavor: the interplay between its blackened tomatoes, roasted chile ancho, and bright lime juice is a knockout.
Get Your Garnish On: Tortilla Soup
Another reason her family loves it: Anjie has fun serving this sopa. Because when it comes to Mexican dishes in general and tortilla soup in particular, for this abuela: it’s all about the garnish.
”I top it with avocado, cilantro, finely chopped onion, lime. You can drizzle a little crema on there, if you’d like,” explains Anjie. ”Sprinkle a little cheese on there, if you like. If you can make and fry your own tortillas and add them in, that is the best. Otherwise, if you can buy tostadas and crumble them up into your soup, if you are in a hurry, that is good too.”
Speaking of fried tortilla toppings, says Anjie: “I like to make mine kind of fancy looking. I cut up one of the tortillas into triangles. I stand it up in the plate if the soup is on the creamier side. Or if it is more broth-y, I lay it on top of the soup, and then I let people just kind of break it apart with their spoons.”
How Sweet It Is: White Corn
The other ingrediente that makes her tortilla soup extra good (beyond fresh tortillas) is fresh corn, says Anjie. ”Corn is such an important ingredient in Mexican cooking and the cooking of the southwest. Especially when you are working with chiles, I think corn adds a nice little sweetness and balances the flavor out a little bit.”
The key is to choose white sweet corn. ”If it’s in season, I buy it fresh and slice it right off the cob. The flavor and the texture are fantastic,” says Anjie.
Can’t find sweet corn fresh in your market? Frozen works fine, says Anjie. ”If corn is not in season, I buy frozen organic sweet corn from my local market.” Just make sure to adjust your timing, she notes. ”If I’m using frozen, I put it in the last couple minutes because I don’t want it to get overly soft. I like corn to have a little texture to it. It’s the very last thing I add to my soup.”
For more of Anjie’s go-to Mexican and southwestern U.S. family-famous recipes, check out her avocado salsa, Mexican frijoles de olla or refried beans, and her family-famous guacamole.
Ready to Make a Big Batch of Traditional Tortilla Soup?
Photo: Michelle Ezratty Murphy, Familia Kitchen Cookbook
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